Lord Agni is a Vedic God. He described as the fire god and holds the second position only to Indra in Vedic legend of ancient India. He is equally the fire of the sun, of the hearth and of lightening that man light for reason of worship. Lord Agni is the divine appearance of the fire of sacrifice and is the mouth of the gods, the carrier of the messenger and the oblation between the divine and the human orders.
Lord Agni is one of the 3 highest deities of the Rig Veda like Surya, Agni and Vayu. These are 3 gods preside above sky, earth and air respectively. Lord Agni is addressed to largest numbers of mantras in Rig Veda. Agni is one of the 7 great sages and is son of Angiras and the grandson of Sandila. In Vishnu Purna claims that Lord Agni is the eldest son of Brahma. Agnayi and Swaha the daughters of Daksha Prajapati are the wife of Lord Agni. His wife is Swaha and during his marriage he has 3 sons Suchi, Pavman and Pavak.
He is regarded as a creator god, sustainer, supreme and all universal spirit. Agni is known as mercy and power. He frequently acts as a mediator between god and men. He has been known by many names Anal, Jivalana, Dhanajaya, Vahni, are some of them. Though he is lives among people driving away their difficulties and satisfying their needs. He has golden body.
In Sanskrit, the word ‘agni’ means fire. Agni is derived as the latin word of ‘ignis and the English word of ‘ignite’. Lord Agni is also known as Agni dev. He is the young and the immortal lord of fire. In Hindu legend and Vedic scriptures, Lord Agni describe as red hued, having 3 legs, 7 tongues, 7 hands and 2 faces. The 2 faces suggest his destructive and beneficent qualities. Lord Agni rays seven light emanate as of his person. Agni is the protector of the Southeast direction. The symbol of Lord Agni is the three-faced (three mukhi) rudraksh. Lord Agni rides a ram. He is the creator of a fire weapon and is called as ‘agneyastra’.
In the Vedic scriptures, Agni described as ruddy-hued and having 2 faces one king and the other harsh. In Hari Vans, Agni is clothed in black. He has smoke as his standard and carries a flaming javelin. He rides in a drawn chariot by red horses and has 4 hands. The shine of his face matches that of sun. Agni purana said that declaimed by agni himself to sage Vashist. It has parts on mystic and ritualistic methods of worship, the art of wars the laws of Hindu and worship of shiva.